Let’s take a minute and say thank you to those whose shoulders ache, but who still find time and energy to shovel out hydrants near their home; thanks to those volunteers who put up the holiday flags; thanks to my neighbor for plowing a swath in this long driveway and thanks to a former neighbor, Gordon, for sharing his garden’s bounty! We’re so lucky in Windham to have a nucleus of dedicated volunteers who plan the use of Dundee Park, put in untold hours on site walks year-round to some undeveloped corner of town and go over details in endless meetings to make sure all plans are in accord with town ordinances.

Remember there is free sand for Windham residents available at Public Works through the winter, open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and weekends when Public Works crews are plowing. No contractors – this is for residents only. When you go through the gates (Windham Center Road) go down over the hill and the covered shed is on the right. Each resident is allowed three 5-gallon buckets at a time.

This is the winter month when the oil delivery and rent collide. With a lot of publicity about fuel assistance, one would think finding out about it would be simple, but so far I’ve left my phone number innumerable times, and am waiting for a call back. I bet there are a lot of people waiting, too, as many this winter will find themselves in what some like to call a “challenging” situation.

Meanwhile, these cold days and nights lend themselves to reading a good book. With a gift certificate for Borders, I recently bought my second copy of “The Lobster Coast,” about the settling of the coast of Maine, by Maine journalist Colin Woodard. It’s absolutely fascinating – I have read it at least twice and some parts more than that. Also I borrowed from the library, Saint Joseph’s professor Michael Connolly’s book about the Irish in Maine. Again, a wonderful read. Now I’ve slumped back into what I call “escape” books and am halfway through Jonathan Kellerman’s “True Detectives” – good but not something that I feel the need to devote hours on end.

With a kettle of soup simmering on the stove, and bright sun making warm spots where the cats snooze, all one needs is a good book and you can almost ignore the snow and ice.

In my spare time during these cold days, I’m putting the finishing touches to several genealogy searches and finishing a project about the origin of our Windham cemeteries. This will eventually be a booklet with photos, maps and a little information about some of the unique gravestones and cemetery residents.

Less than 70 days until spring, my sister-in-law tells me. If we say it enough times, perhaps (like winter), spring will arrive early. Let’s hope so! See you in a couple of weeks.